When you close your eyes and picture the cartoon character ‘Dennis the Menace’ what do you see?
Is it a dark-haired boy in a red and black striped jumper or a cherubic scamp with a baseball glove who terrorised Mr. Wilson?
Confusingly, both versions are correct but it depends on where you are in the world on which one you’ll be most familiar with. However, that’s not even the most bizarre aspect about the two Dennises.
Shared on Instagram, user Lionel King explained that the two comic characters were his “favourite coincidence” and the truth is almost stranger than fiction.
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On March 12, 1951, two separate comics entitled Dennis the Menace went on sale, one in the UK, and one in the US. The creators did not know about each other, had never spoken, and had no reason to pick that exact same day.
UK Dennis first appeared in Beano #452 and was created by David Law. It was published by D.C. Thomson as part of a comic strip inside of the popular comedy comic book. Meanwhile, his U.S. equivalent was created by Hank Ketcham and distributed by Post-Hall Syndicate as part of a comic strip for a newspaper.
And although the two characters share a name and a fondness for striped clothing, it’s clear their personalities are extremely different. The UK version, along with his dog Gnasher, is a true menace.
He’s mean, he’s aggressive, and likes to cause trouble and mayhem. If he was created today he’d probably have an ASBO, a vape, and be bullying other kids on social media. Meanwhile, the U.S. counterpart is a mischief-maker who gets into trouble but isn’t an inherently bad child.
After the two creators found out about each other they agreed to allow the respective comics to continue, both of which are still around in some format and no legal action has ever been taken against either creator.
People watching Lionel’s video explanation were stunned by the revelation with many assuming one of the characters had a different name. One person wrote: “How did I never know this? My mind is blown.” While a second user quipped: “UK Dennis would have eaten US Dennis, for sure.” Another user joked: “UK Dennis looks like he would have 3 tinnies in the park and then go drop bricks from the overpass on the M6.”
Someone else remarked they finally knew why they were so perplexed after seeing the 1993 film of the same name. They wrote: “I remember when the movie came out, I was so confused why it was a blond kid. Explains why.”
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